Empire Company Limited (TSE:EMP.A) Senior Officer Sells C$84,150.00 in Stock

Empire Company Limited (TSE:EMP.A - Get Free Report) Senior Officer Douglas Bigler Nathanson sold 1,500 shares of Empire stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$56.10, for a total value of C$84,150.00.

Douglas Bigler Nathanson also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, June 20th, Douglas Bigler Nathanson sold 400 shares of Empire stock. The stock was sold at an average price of C$54.94, for a total value of C$21,976.00.
• On Friday, June 20th, Douglas Bigler Nathanson sold 600 shares of Empire stock. The stock was sold at an average price of C$54.91, for a total value of C$32,946.00.

Empire Stock Up 0.7%

EMP.A traded up C$0.36 on Friday, reaching C$55.74. The company's stock had a trading volume of 361,172 shares, compared to its average volume of 473,563. The stock has a market cap of C$7.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 0.48. Empire Company Limited has a 1 year low of C$35.43 and a 1 year high of C$57.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 135.51, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The business's 50 day moving average is C$53.43 and its 200 day moving average is C$48.29.

Empire Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st will be given a $0.22 dividend. This is a boost from Empire's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 15th. Empire's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.20%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EMP.A has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Desjardins boosted their target price on Empire from C$50.00 to C$55.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Empire from C$49.00 to C$62.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Empire from C$56.00 to C$61.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. CIBC lifted their price target on Empire from C$55.00 to C$59.00 in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Finally, TD Securities boosted their target price on Empire from C$48.00 to C$58.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Empire presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of C$57.43.

About Empire

Empire Co Ltd key businesses are food retailing, investments, and other operations. The food retailing division operates through Empire's subsidiary Sobeys and represents nearly all of the company's income. This segment owns, affiliates, or franchises more than 1,500 stores in 10 provinces, under retail banners including Sobeys, Safeway, IGA, Foodland, FreshCo, Thrifty Foods, Lawton's Drug Stores, and multiple retail fuel locations.